Estimated prevalence of compulsive buying in Germany and its association with sociodemographic characteristics and depressive symptoms

Abstract

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of compulsive buying and its association with sociodemographic characteristics and depressive symptoms in a nationally representative sample of the German population using the validated German version of the Compulsive Buying Scale (CBS; Faber and O'Guinn, 1992) in order to have a direct comparison with U.S. findings. The point prevalence of compulsive buying in the weighted representative sample (N = 2,350) was estimated to be 6.9%. This was somewhat higher than the percentage in the American sample assessed in 2004 (5.8%). No significant difference was found between women and men (6.9% and 6.8%, respectively). Age was inversely related to the prevalence of compulsive buying. Individuals with compulsive buying reported more depressive symptoms assessed via the German version of the Brief Patient Health Questionnaire Mood Scale (PHQ-9). Further research on this topic is needed to establish a clearer delineation of when excessive buying is clinically significant and should be treated and how it could be prevented.

Introduction

Compulsive buying disorder is a culture-bound excessive behavior wherein affected individuals engage in excessive buying. Although the phenomenon is receiving increasing attention in research, it has largely been ignored in clinical practice. Historically, Kraepelin, 1909, Bleuler, 1923 included excessive buying behavior, termed oniomania, as a clinical entity in their textbooks. According to McElroy et al. (1994), who proposed diagnostic criteria for compulsive buying disorder, the disorder is characterized by frequent buying episodes or impulses to buy that are experienced as irresistible or senseless. The spending behavior and impulses lead to personal distress, social, marital, or occupational dysfunction, and to financial or legal problems. The excessive buying behavior does not occur exclusively during episodes of mania or hypomania.

Compulsive buying disorder is not specifically described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV) and International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10. Regarding the diagnostic criteria of McElroy et al. (1994), it is currently conceptualized as an “impulse control disorder not otherwise specified”. Previous research indicated a high comorbidity with depressive, anxiety, compulsive hoarding, obsessive–compulsive, substance use, eating, and personality disorders (Christenson et al., 1994, Schlosser et al., 1994, Black et al., 1998, Mitchell et al., 2002, Mueller et al., 2007a, Mueller et al., 2009). There is no standard drug treatment approach (Kuzma and Black, 2004, Grant et al., 2006, Black, 2007). Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy was found to be beneficial in two recent controlled trials (Mitchell et al., 2006, Mueller et al., 2008).

Current research suggests that compulsive buying is common in maturing consumer societies. Koran et al. (2006) estimated the lifetime prevalence rate of compulsive buying in the United States to be 5.8%. In Germany, two representative population-based surveys investigating compulsive buying were conducted 10 years apart (1991 and 2001). In the first study, 1% of the East German population and 5.1% of the West German population were identified as compulsive buyers (Scherhorn et al., 1990, Neuner et al., 2005). Ten years later, the percentages had increased with 6.5% of the population in East Germany and 8% of the population in West Germany reporting compulsive buying (Neuner et al., 2005).

The most frequently used scale to screen for compulsive buying is Faber and O'Guinn's (1992) 7-item Compulsive Buying Scale which has been utilized in many studies (Manolis et al., 2008). In the two German surveys, the propensity to engage in compulsive buying was assessed using an adapted version of the Canadian Compulsive Buying Measurement Scale (Valence et al., 1988). This 16-item German Compulsive Buying Measurement Scale is a well-validated compulsive buying screening instrument (Raab et al., 2005). Because different measures of compulsive buying were used, the findings of the American and the German studies are similar only to a limited extent. Thus, the aims of the current study were 1) to evaluate the psychometric properties of the German version of Faber and O'Guinn's Compulsive Buying Scale, and 2) to estimate the prevalence of compulsive buying in a population-based sample using the German version of the CBS in order to have a direct comparison with U.S. findings.